Disgusting experience!!!!!

[rvsullivan]

Even if the OP knew nothing about Mardi Gras......she still was in traffic for 5 hours. She did plan in advance....5 hours in advance. So who cares if she was re-miss in not knowing it was mardi gras. To be trying to get to the port for 5 hours and still miss the ship is a problem that NCL could have helped with.

 

NCL doing business in NOLA for several years now KNOWS that passengers are going to have major, major problems getting to the ship. Even in Mardi Gras, it would be reasonable to think 5 hours should get you across town!!

 

So instead of NCL simply emailing her directions to get to the ship, they could have sent a special email to their customers dealing with Mardi Gras this week. They could say....."Hey, plan on 6 hours of traffic getting across town". NCL could have offered free bus transportation from several locations in NOLA for their passengers dealing with the traffic this week.

The other 2300 passengers seem to have made it ok. Sounds strange that they didn't? There is no public parking to be had for thousands of passengers to leave their cars for a week and then hire buses. How would that work?

 

NCL could have gone out of their way a tiny bit to help their customers they KNEW were going to have a hell of a time getting across town.

NCL does not have staff in NO, the people working in the terminal are port employee's. Seems if someone was going to take care of this issue, it would be the port of NO, not NCL. Carnival has not had any postings on their website discussing this and so far no other NCL guests either.

[EhwinOnABoat]

I don't live in NOLA and am well aware that Mardi Gras closes down roads. It isn't the job of the ticket seller to notify everyone of road closures. I think the customer has full responsibility to make sure that their ducks are in a row and they get to where they need to be in plenty of time.

[mickeysgal]

Even if the OP knew nothing about Mardi Gras......she still was in traffic for 5 hours. She did plan in advance....5 hours in advance. So who cares if she was re-miss in not knowing it was mardi gras. To be trying to get to the port for 5 hours and still miss the ship is a problem that NCL could have helped with.

 

NCL doing business in NOLA for several years now KNOWS that passengers are going to have major, major problems getting to the ship. Even in Mardi Gras, it would be reasonable to think 5 hours should get you across town!!

 

So instead of NCL simply emailing her directions to get to the ship, they could have sent a special email to their customers dealing with Mardi Gras this week. They could say....."Hey, plan on 6 hours of traffic getting across town". NCL could have offered free bus transportation from several locations in NOLA for their passengers dealing with the traffic this week.

 

NCL could have gone out of their way a tiny bit to help their customers they KNEW were going to have a hell of a time getting across town.

 

What if it takes 7 hours? Who's responsibility would it be then?

 

Can't predict weather, traffic, road conditions, plane delays, bus, subway, taxi, car trouble, missed wake-up calls, hangovers from Mardi Gras the night before, etc. In my opinion, I think a cruiseline should stay far away from getting in the business of trying to predict and forewarn for every nuance.

 

Come on, use common sense with traveling. Hand holding is pitiful.

[SuiteCruiser]

Suitecruiser- lol My thoughts exactly.

 

I can imagine the pits of frustration in the stomach when traffic wasn't moving and the time for the cruise was getting closer and closer. That car must have been absolutely filled with tension. My family would have at some point turned on each other screaming in frustration, lol. It would have to be one or the others one's fault. Actually my husbands argument invariably would have been " you spend so much time on that "cruise website" why didn't you know this was going to happen." hee

 

Had to have been horrible. how come we haven't heard from anyone else who went through the same thing? Haven't read the ENTIRE thread so if others have chimned in, sorry.

 

No, no one else has come on the boards saying they missed their ship. I agree with your post 100%, it would have been incredibly stressful, and then for it to end by missing the ship, there are no words.

 

The immediate jump to lawsuit is what bothers most people. Take responsibility for your actions.

 

If they had come on upset with themselves, they would have received a lot more sympathy.

[The Islanders]

OMG you just gave me a flashback to Bugs Bunny cartoons - that was where I learned this song, LOL!

 

The moral of the story - if you are cruising out of NOLA - STAY IN A HOTEL THERE THE NIGHT BEFORE A CRUISE. You can walk to the terminal if need be.

 

For The Islanders:

 

 

 

Thank You Grandma! You just took me back 40 years!

 

:):):):):):)

[WillCruise4Wine]

In bad situations like this or missed/cancelled flight, at some point you have to come up with your alternative. In this case I probably would have found a parking garage in another area and taken a taxi, who would presumably know how to get to the ship. (And I would have asked up front). Worse case, go to the airport for parking and taxi.

 

And then I would have asked NCL/Travel agent to reimburse the extra cost and frustration.

 

I'm also sure my Travel Agent would have reminded/warned me about Mardi Gras.

[VonChap]

In bad situations like this or missed/cancelled flight, at some point you have to come up with your alternative. In this case I probably would have found a parking garage in another area and taken a taxi, who would presumably know how to get to the ship. (And I would have asked up front). Worse case, go to the airport for parking and taxi.

 

And then I would have asked NCL/Travel agent to reimburse the extra cost and frustration.

 

I'm also sure my Travel Agent would have reminded/warned me about Mardi Gras.

 

NCL had announcements at the airport up to 3PM on that day asking for any cruiser who needed assistance getting to the ship to come to baggage claim--even if you had not pre-booked transport with them. They announced it many times and had several people holding posters in baggage claim as late as 3PM.

[Mooder]

NCL had announcements at the airport up to 3PM on that day asking for any cruiser who needed assistance getting to the ship to come to baggage claim--even if you had not pre-booked transport with them. They announced it many times and had several people holding posters in baggage claim as late as 3PM.

 

Wow! It sounds like they really made an effort to help people out.

 

IMHO, this is what travel insurance is for. Many years ago, a major blizzard hit just before our cruise. Our original flight was cancelled and we were instructed to drive to another airport for a different flight. We did that, but the check in lines were so long, we missed that flight and had to be put on a series of short flights down the coastline, including an overnight in Washington, D.C. to reach Miami. We missed the cruise. We flew to Nassau and met the cruise there. Our luggage did not. :( At one point, in NYC, we were given the option of forgetting the whole thing and rescheduling. In hindsight, we wished we had. Once things start going wrong, the tone of the vacation was set. We thought once we arrived on the ship all would be well, but the bad weather followed us. Nothing can change the fact that stuff happens and not every vacation will live up to your dreams. But, the additional transportation, hotel and clothing purchases did not cost us anything. They were covered by a combination of the airline and the travel insurance. If there had been no airline involved, we would have claimed it all to travel insurance.

[jetskier]

Dave, just noticed the Fredick in your signature. I was on the USS Boulder LST-1190 in the mid-70's as ship's company. Haven't been sea sick since;).

 

I sailed on the USS Frederick Dec 1981-Jan 1982. They picked us up at White Beach in Okinawa and took us to Inchon, Korea for a CAFEX exercise. We then backloaded in mid-Jan and went back to Okinawa.

 

We hit a nice storm going up the Yellow China Sea and had waves breaking over the bow. Spray was going over the walkway bridge up front. Then of course with it being flat bottomed the slamming on top of the next wave.

 

Dave

[russianmom]

My car would have been waiting for me in the impound lot because I would have hoofed it.

 

Agree 100% and it probably would have cost less money than port parking!!!!

[iheartbda]

Ehh...you don't know that. Perhaps they caught up with the cruise, perhaps they turned around and went home, perhaps they're partying it up in New Orleans.

 

This thread has over 300 responses and over 16,000 views. They're probably scared to come back. The welcoming committee is rather large.

But I do know that......they were lurking at 1:13 yesterday.;):D

[LovesCruising]

But I do know that......they were lurking at 1:13 yesterday.;):D

 

Geez come on back already - hard to feel sorry for someone when they don't make another comment!

[biker@sea]

O.P. has had 4 posts in 4 years I don't think they are due back for a while.;)

J.M.H.O.

[salty dingo]

In 5 hours, I think you could have driven to the airport, parked, and taken a cab to the port.

 

I doubt the thousands of passengers on that ship found there was no way to get on board!

[luddite]

In bad situations like this or missed/cancelled flight, at some point you have to come up with your alternative. In this case I probably would have found a parking garage in another area and taken a taxi, who would presumably know how to get to the ship. (And I would have asked up front). Worse case, go to the airport for parking and taxi.

 

And then I would have asked NCL/Travel agent to reimburse the extra cost and frustration.

 

I'm also sure my Travel Agent would have reminded/warned me about Mardi Gras.

 

There's a pretty good chance OP was stuck in traffic on an Interstate Hwy.

[luddite]

I sailed on the USS Frederick Dec 1981-Jan 1982. They picked us up at White Beach in Okinawa and took us to Inchon, Korea for a CAFEX exercise. We then backloaded in mid-Jan and went back to Okinawa.

 

We hit a nice storm going up the Yellow China Sea and had waves breaking over the bow. Spray was going over the walkway bridge up front. Then of course with it being flat bottomed the slamming on top of the next wave.

 

Dave

 

Is that what they call 'Taking green water over the bow'?

Yikes!

[sparks1093]

Is that what they call 'Taking green water over the bow'?

Yikes!

 

Heck, we'd take green water over the bow in 3 foot seas on those flat bottomed ships:eek:;).

[luddite]

Heck, we'd take green water over the bow in 3 foot seas on those flat bottomed ships:eek:;).

 

Any Spruance class cans on the list?

[luvtheships]

I am not posting this as a fan of NCL, but rather as a rational person. I cannot see how the OP could even think for 1 minute that they have a case against the cruise line due to their not getting to the ship on time!! That would be the same as saying "I printed out directions from Mapquest that said travel time was 35 minutes and due to traffic it took 4 hours" and I missed something important so I tried to sue Mapquest!! How stupid!!

I have read of cases where Mapquest has put commercial large height trucks on to parkways..where commercial vehicles are not allowed and with low hanging bridges!

 

Also there have been a few cases where GPS dependant drivers who have decided that a voice on a GPS is smarter than they are...have been told to cross over train tracks...drive on to unfinished roads....drive into forests etc.

 

I believe a car around here was told to make a turn that landed them directly on the same path direction as train tracks.....they made the turn of course...and were lucky to escape with their lives...

 

Too much dependance on GPS and Mapquest.....I will just stick with my good sense of direction...and lots of advance research!

[luvtheships]

O.P. has had 4 posts in 4 years I don't think they are due back for a while.;)

J.M.H.O.

but they got us dopes to make over 300 posts!!!! They must be laughing there arses off!

[iheartbda]

Geez come on back already - hard to feel sorry for someone when they don't make another comment!

That usually happens when the OP doesn't get the overwhelming support they expected.;)

[sparks1093]

Any Spruance class cans on the list?

 

Nope, but I was on a Knox class frigate, the USS Capodanno FF-1093.

[PreciousCruiser]

Can't predict weather, traffic, road conditions, plane delays, bus, subway, taxi, car trouble, missed wake-up calls, hangovers from Mardi Gras the night before, etc.

 

Not sure if the recent luggage/oil spill accident on Carnival has been mentioned on this thread or not (or any thread on the NCL board), but you can't predict this either. Of course these people made it on the ship, but what a big bummer for those that needed new luggage and the delay in sailaway. http://www.carnival.com/funville/forums/t/212362.aspx?PageIndex=3. In the middle of the page it shows a pic of the problem and you can click on pages 1 & 2 to read more about it.

 

(Don't mean to hijack this thread, but I heard about this from a friend and wasn't sure where to post it!)

[ColinIllinois]

Nope, but I was on a Knox class frigate, the USS Capodanno FF-1093.

 

 

I liked the Knox class ships. I was on the USS Hepburn (FF-1055). It's now part of an artificial reef. The Capodanno is now part of the Turkish navy.

[david_sobe]

This thread keeps going and going...

Soon it will overcome the thread on the NCL Epic bathrooms ;) ;)

 

I will offer sympathy to the OP. I cant even imagine how upset I would be (we would all be) to miss your cruise because of traffic. Traffic is frustating enough but to know you are missing your vacation cruise could push people to the edge (especially since crazy people like us post about it years in advance here on cruise critic ;) )

 

I will give the OP a pass about not knowing about the festivities in New Orleans. That is not their fault. I find fault with the city of New Orleans for not securing their port for traffic issues during the parade.

 

One thing we may never know is how much time the OP allowed themselves to make the boat. If you are boarding last minute, any traffic is going to impact your arrival.

 

I find it ok for the OP to vent their frustation though. It is part of the healing process. Wish I could pour them a strong drink ;)